American Studies | Special Topics in S&H Studies for AMST / Topic: Leaving America: the Hidden History of Americans Who Left
A299 | 28478 | Don Maxwell

3 credit hours, Distribution Credit: COLL S&H
Class # 28478 Tuesday & Thursday, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. (2nd 8 week
course)
Instructor: Don Maxwell
Email: dmaxwell@indiana.edu
Americans who leave the United States seem to leave American
history. U.S. history emphasizes the story of immigrants who came to
this country. What are the stories of those who left the United
States or who moved from place to place within it?
How would our understanding of American history change if we made an
effort to understand the experiences of American expatriates and
migrants and the places to which they moved?
To arrive at a narrative of the United States as a nation of
emigrants and migrants, this course will consider such questions as:
Why did they leave? What factors did race, gender, class, and age
play? How did they choose their new home? How was it an improvement?
Did they stay away permanently? Why has American history largely
ignored expatriates? What motivates 21st century Americans to leave?
Students will seek answers to these questions through analysis of
historical writing and documents, movies, television shows, and
works of fiction, through class discussion, and through the creation
of a portfolio of writing & research projects.